President Yoon Suk Yeol said the central bank's rate hike, an inevitable measure in curbing inflation, must not place a burden on the socially vulnerable.

Presiding over a second session of the government's emergency economy and livelihood meeting on Thursday, Yoon cast concerns over small business owners, homebuyers and young investors struggling to make their monthly debt payments.

The president's remarks come a day after the Bank of Korea(BOK) took its first-ever "big step" of raising its key interest by zero-point-five percentage points, prompting concerns over its impact on indebted households.

Yoon pledged an active state response through the utilization of its financial resources, stressing that the collapse of the economic situation of ordinary people will cause the foundation of the national economy to crumble.

Some measures the president pledged include the Korea Asset Management Corporation purchasing small business debts through bonds to offer them maturity extension or interest reduction.

Yoon also promised to apply a loan conversion system for mortgage lenders to help bring down interest and ease the burden of a rate hike for long-term loans.